thinking about riches

And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

Matthew 19:24 (NKJV)

I was thinking about this little verse this morning and pondering, why would Jesus say that. It’s as if He’s saying that being rich and entering the Kingdom of Heaven are opposites.

If that’s true, it’s not an insurmountable problem. Jesus said later, “With men this is impossible but with God all things are possible”. But on mulling it over, I wonder if the mindset necessary to focus on getting riches and the mindset of entering, then living in the Kingdom don’t clash in a basic way. A goal to get and keep riches doesn’t exactly jive with some Kingdom must-haves like dependence on God, humility, being carefree, having a relaxed grip on material stuff, a mind set on eternal things.

Even though I’m not rich, at least not by western standards, I’m squirming and thinking, I guess you don’t have to be head-turningly rich to have a rich-man’s camel bulk.